


The Dragon Pox Affair

by starbunny86



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: F/M, Marriage of Convenience, Mutual Pining, Post-Canon, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-20
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-12 10:01:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,317
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28883577
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starbunny86/pseuds/starbunny86
Summary: A near-death experience triggers an ancient Fire Nation law that throws Mai and Zuko back into each other’s lives. And this time, it’s for good.Takes place after Smoke and Shadow.
Relationships: Mai/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 72
Kudos: 119





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> For all of you hoping for another chapter of More Than Blood Can Stand, I apologize. The last four weeks there has been a death in the family and I've been very sick, and honestly, I pretty much haven't written since before Christmas. I want to stress that I haven't abandoned MTBCS. The next chapter is half written, and the other half is going to get written as soon as I can pull myself together again. It's just going to take a little more time.
> 
> But as luck would have it, for the last couple of months when I haven't felt inspired to write MTBCS, I have been secretly working on this: a Maiko romance set after Smoke and Shadow. I was going to wait until MTBCS was finished, but I decided to post the first chapter now, to hopefully make up for the long wait you've had to endure.
> 
> This story is primarily a romance with the plot existing for the sole purpose of forcing Mai and Zuko into some of my favorite tropes. Basically, I'm writing a Maiko K-drama, because I'm a sucker for that kind of cheesy, melodramatic romantic nonsense.
> 
> I was originally aiming for a short, sweet 20k words, or maybe 40k on the long end. But then plot happened, and I've already written 30k words in the first arc. But who cares? There is a dearth of novel-length Maiko fics in this world. I may as well help remedy that problem.
> 
> Expect updates every other week or so until I get through my backlog of chapters. Then it will slow to whenever I manage to finish the next chapter, because I don't work well to deadlines. ;)

"Do you mind telling me where we're going?"

Zuko looked over at his newly-appointed head of security. "Hinata, I thought we went through this already. If I tell you, I have to kill you."

"The not knowing is what's going to kill me," he grumbled, pushing a vine out of his way so he could trudge through the thick jungle underbrush.

Zuko smirked. "You've only been back in the Fire Nation for what? Two months? And only head of my security for a few weeks? Trust me. There's a _lot_ you don't know yet."

"If I'd known this is what I was signing up for, I wouldn't have volunteered," he grumbled.

But Zuko wasn't fooled. "The first thing you did when your division returned home from the Earth Kingdom was to ask for the position. You wanted to - and I quote - single-handedly turn around my security detail and put the Kyoshi Warriors out of a job. You can't tell me you were on board with fighting off assassins and weeding out incompetent guards, but you weren't up for following me around in the middle of nowhere?"

Hinata hopped over a fallen branch and smirked at him. "My father always said the worst part of serving the royal family was putting up with all their silly whims."

"General Saito does have a way with words."

They rounded a corner in the path, and stopped to take in the view. The jungle gave way to a clearing filled with immense stone structures and buildings. Some were crumbling from age, and others had vines encircling them in an effort to reclaim the clearing for the wilderness. It was a view Zuko knew well.

"The Sun Warrior ruins?" Hinata asked.

"Pretty amazing, aren't they?"

"Well, yes," he admitted, "But what, exactly, is so urgent about the ruins that you couldn't wait another day to visit?"

" _That_ is what I can't tell you _,_ " he said with a grin, enjoying teasing him. "I'm afraid you're going to have to wait outside while I go in."

Hinata folded his arms across his chest and glared. "Absolutely not. That would be a dereliction of duty."

"And disobeying a direct order from the Fire Lord is insubordination."

"Given the choice between the two…"

"Hmph," he said, with false annoyance. If he had really thought he couldn't trust Hinata with this secret, he wouldn't have brought him.

They trudged down the path to the entrance, taking the route Zuko had worked out over many visits to avoid the traps, and were met at the entrance by the Sun Warrior chief, Necalli.

"A real Sun Warrior?" Hinata asked in a whisper.

Zuko nodded once, curtly. He was focused on the chief's stern gaze.

"Who is _this_?" he asked in his booming voice. "You were supposed to come alone."

"This is Hinata, my head of security."

"You've never brought guards before," Chief Necalli sniffed, obviously affronted.

"None of the others were so thorough in fulfilling their duties." When Necalli's frown deepened, he raised his hands in a peaceful gesture. "I trust Hinata with my life. You can trust him with this secret."

Necalli deliberated for a while, then sighed. "I suppose the fire ferret is already out of the bag. We couldn't remain secret for much longer anyway." Then he leaned in until he was almost nose-to-nose with Hinata, and his voice dropped to a menacing timbre. "What you see inside these walls stays inside these walls."

Hinata nodded. "The only thing I care about is keeping the Fire Lord safe. So long as this secret doesn't endanger him, I have no interest in talking about it."

This seemed to amuse Necalli. "We'll see if you still feel that way after you've seen him."

"Him?" Hinata looked at Zuko.

Instead of answering, he walked past Chief Necalli into the complex.

Zuko had seen all of this before, and it had long ago ceased to amaze him. But seeing Hinata take in the grandeur of the atrium, he felt himself remembering how it had felt that first time with Aang.

"I recognize those poses." Hinata walked over to one of the statues for a closer look. "I've seen you practice them." He turned back to Zuko. "You learned this here?"

He nodded in return. "It's a Sun Warrior firebending form. I'll teach you sometime. But that's not what we're here to see."

They walked out of the building through the back door - Hinata obviously reluctantly - and followed a path to a large paddock about the size of his chambers in the palace.

He jogged over to the paddock fence and leaned against it, trying hard to keep a goofy grin off of his face.

" _Zuko_. What-" Hinata shouldn't have used his name, but it wasn't like Zuko didn't understand the shock he felt. This was probably shifting his entire worldview.

Sitting in the middle of the paddock, hardly larger than a wolf bat, was a red baby dragon.

He waved Hinata over. "Do you like him?"

"How did you even…" He shook his head and laughed. "Of _course_ I like him. This is more than amazing. It's _impossible_."

"His name is Druk." He couldn't stop the grin now. "And as soon as he's big enough, he's going to be mine."

"You're _joking_ ," he breathed, joining Zuko at the fence. He shook his head in disbelief. "But dragons are extinct! The Dragon of the West killed the last one before we were even born."

"Apparently not," he laughed. "Aang and I discovered the last two remaining dragons here during the war. I've come back several times since I became Fire Lord, and when I heard that the female had laid an egg, I immediately began negotiating to reintroduce dragons to the Fire Nation."

"That would be…" He hunted around for a strong enough word. "Something else," he finished feebly.

Zuko pushed himself off the railing, grabbed a hippo-ox leg from a bin next to the paddock, and jumped the fence.

"Is that safe?" Hinata called out, hesitant. "Aren't dragons… dangerous? Especially dragon mothers?"

"She doesn't mind," he replied, sitting on the ground and waiting for Druk to approach him.

He circled Zuko a couple of times, his tail held high and his eyes alert, before he pounced in his lap and sunk his teeth into the hippo-ox leg. Zuko stroked Druk's back and encouraged him as he ate.

His little jaws shattered the bone bit by bit until all that was remaining was the piece in Zuko's hand. With a wag of his tail, he crouched and sprang, grabbing the last bite with a flourish. He missed.

"Ow!" Zuko hissed and grabbed his hand. There was a tiny fang mark on his index finger. "Must you do this every time?"

"Are you hurt?" Hinata perched on the paddock fence, ready to leap it.

"No, I'm fine," he said, annoyed that he'd been so careless again. "This is the second time he's tried to bite me when I fed him. The little terror hasn't learned his manners yet. This time he even broke the skin."

Hinata was not convinced. "Are you sure you're okay? Weren't dragons venomous?" Then, with a shake of his head. "I mean, _aren't_ they?"

"That's what I thought, too." He sucked on the wound in a vain effort to alleviate the pain. "But honestly, I don't know how much to believe of the old stories. They were also supposed to be vicious, but every dragon I've met here has been no more dangerous than a komodo rhino."

"What does the chief say?"

Zuko shrugged. "The truth is that no one alive today has ever seen a baby dragon before. It's all a lot of guesswork. But he says they have writings about how to train dragons, and so we're mostly going off of that."

"Has he said how long it will be until he's grown?"

"Maybe another three months?"

His mouth fell open. "That soon?"

"He was the size of my hand last month."

"Wow. How did you ever get them to agree to give him to you?"

" _Lots_ of negotiations and concessions on my part." He stroked the scales on Druk's back. "And a glowing endorsement from his parents."

"The… dragon parents?"

"Yes," Zuko grinned. "The dragon parents."

* * *

Hinata talked his ear off the entire trek back to the Caldera, so that by the time they returned to the palace that night, Zuko's head ached. It reminded him of how Ty Lee prattled on and on. Hinata wasn't usually like that; he was usually single minded and focused, and though he had a good sense of humor was not the excitable type.

Zuko could understand, of course. He had felt much the same after he and Aang had seen Ran and Shaw for the first time. If he hadn't been preoccupied with the visions they'd given him of the meaning of firebending, he might have reverted to his giddy 8-year-old dragon-obsessed self, too.

But after the long day they'd both had, he wasn't able to muster the same enthusiasm. He paused just outside the gates and said, rather more harshly than he'd intended, "Enough!" At Hinata's wounded expression, he pinched his nose and sighed. "I get it. You're excited. But no one else knows about this, and it has to stay that way. So keep your mouth shut, okay?"

"Of course," he said, offended. "I would never give away a secret like that."

Zuko sighed, rubbing the spot on his head that was beginning to throb. "I know. I'm sorry I snapped at you. It's just been a long day, and-"

"And you should get some rest. You have double the meetings tomorrow because of taking today off."

He groaned at the thought. "Why do I do these things to myself?"

"Because you're a good Fire Lord who doesn't shirk his duty, not even for-" he dropped his voice to an awed whisper "- _dragons_."

He had to smile at that.

Then Hinata bowed and left for his quarters, and Zuko trudged to his room. He collapsed into bed and kneaded the sore muscles in his neck.

The headache was getting worse. He considered having someone bring him some willow bark tea, but he couldn't muster up the energy to call for it.

Sleep would help. All he needed was a good night's sleep.

* * *

He woke the next morning to the sound of knocking on his door. Each knock ricocheted through his head in a way that reminded him that his headache had decidedly _not_ been cured by sleep.

"My Lord?" Hinata asked.

"Come in," he croaked past a surprisingly raw throat.

The door creaked open, prompting another wince.

"You, er, don't look your best this morning, sir," Hinata said frankly. "Is anything wrong?"

"No," he insisted, and to prove it he pushed himself out of bed - and immediately collapsed back onto it. And despite how he knew it looked, he looked up and said through gritted teeth, "I'm _fine_."

"I can see that," Hinata's mouth was set in a grim line. "But just to be safe, why don't I send for the Royal Physician?"

Before Zuko could respond, he had stuck his head into the hall and spoken to a servant.

It annoyed him, but rather than fight it, he leaned back against his pillows and shut his eyes. Hinata was being overprotective, but the truth was that he did feel a bit off. He shivered and burrowed under the covers, only to find that his sheets were soaked in sweat.

It couldn't hurt to spend a _few_ more minutes in bed.

He must have drifted off, because the next thing he knew Hinata had left the room and the physician was leaning over him and tutting as he did a careful examination. After a few minutes he straightened and shook his head.

"If I didn't know any better, my lord, I'd think you had the dragon pox." He smiled reassuringly. "Thankfully, that's impossible."

The words had a rather different effect on Zuko. "Dragon pox?"

The physician brushed a cool, wet towel over Zuko's forehead. His eyes fluttered shut at the sensation, such a relief after the blazing heat. Seconds later, the towel was beginning to steam.

"It's a terrible and deadly disease, my lord. Very rare, even when dragons were still alive."

"Tell me about it," he said hoarsely, a sinking feeling in his stomach - or was it a bout of nausea?

"No physician has seen a case in my lifetime, I'm afraid, so all I can tell you is what I've read in scrolls. The disease is spread by the bite of a baby dragon, and follows a slow progression of ever-increasing fever, nausea, and rash. Over the next few days, the rash turns into pustules, which begin to boil in the later stages, just before death."

This wasn't good news. Why hadn't Chief Necalli warned him about this?

"I see," he said faintly. "Doctor, let's say for the sake of argument, that I was bitten by a baby dragon. What would be the treatment and my prognosis?"

"Treatment was a lot of trial and error. As far as I can remember, there were very few effective treatments. And as for prognosis," the physician smiled. "It is a good thing this can't be dragon pox. More than three quarters of the people who contracted it didn't survive."

That was it, then. Odds were he was going to die a slow, painful death.

He thought about all the work he'd done these last years as Fire Lord, and of all the work he had yet unfinished, that he _needed_ to finish. He thought of Uncle, so happy in his tea shop in Ba Sing Se, being forced to return to the Fire Nation to take a crown he'd never wanted.

He thought of Mai, and how two years later he _still_ hadn't fixed things with her. Though maybe that was a good thing. At least she wouldn't be as hurt by his death.

And then he remembered that he was not someone who gave up in the face of adversity. This wasn't a fight in the sense he was used to, but he still had options.

He tried to sit up in his bed, and his head spun so badly that he had to grit his teeth against the nausea.

"Doctor, I need you to find every dragon pox treatment you can, successful or not. Have the scholars make it their top priority."

"My lord," he said hesitantly, "I think my time would be better spent at your bedside than in researching a dead disease."

"I was bitten by a dragon yesterday."

There was a long pause before he answered. "You are running a high fever. You are not yourself."

"You will treat this disease as though it were dragon pox. That is an order from your Fire Lord," he said with less force than he would have if he'd been well.

The man blinked, obviously unconvinced, but bowed. "As you wish, my lord."

Zuko had heard that tone of voice before from ministers who thought they knew better than him, and knew that this man wasn't going to follow his orders.

Very well. He had other options.

He motioned to a servant. "I need paper and ink, and three of the fastest messenger hawks in the palace."

"Right away, sir."

His physician might not take him seriously, but Uncle and Katara and Aang _would_.


	2. Chapter 2

Two days later, Mai woke to someone pounding on the flower shop door. She waited a few moments for the person to give up and go away, but the knocking only intensified. With a frustrated, " _Ugh_ ," she pulled on a dressing gown and, for good measure, both of her wrist shooters.

Because it was the middle of the night, and whoever had woken her up was going to _pay._

She met her mother and Auntie Mura in the hallway, both peeking their heads out of their bedrooms, and waved at them to go back to sleep. She would deal with it.

She grabbed a throwing knife off of the belt around her waist and flung the door open, ready to eviscerate whatever lay on the other side.

And then stopped short.

It was the Avatar.

"Thank goodness," he panted. "If you hadn't come in the next three knocks, I was going to break into your bedroom window."

"Avatar Aang." She gave a long-suffering sigh. "What is so urgent it couldn't wait until morning?"

If he had woken her up to fight against insurrectionists, she would have some choice words for him.

"Zuko is dying."

_What?_ Her entire body froze. She stood like a statue, unable to think or speak or move, or even to breathe.

"Come on." Aang put a hand on her arm and tugged. "Katara thinks he only has a few hours left."

Only a few hours… But-

"We broke up ages ago. We're barely even friends anymore. Why are you here? Did he... ask for me?"

Aang didn't meet her gaze, which was answer enough. "He's mostly been in a coma since we got here. Ursa and Kiyi were visiting Iroh in Ba Sing Se when he got sick. They're on their way, but boats are slow and... they will probably be too late." He set his mouth in a grim line. "Katara and I don't want him to have to die alone."

"And you and Katara don't count?" She didn't know why she was stalling. Every minute she wasted here was one less minute with Zuko. But her brain was stuck, and for some reason she just _couldn't_.

"We count. But don't you think he needs someone more like, I don't know, _family_ right now? Someone he loves?"

She was glad Aang hadn't said _someone who loves him_ , because she didn't think she could allow herself to admit to that, even under these circumstances. It wasn't a secret that Zuko loved her still; the whole Fire Nation probably knew _that_. Aang was right; Zuko deserved to have someone he loved with him when he died. Even if that someone was only an ex-girlfriend.

Mind made up, she pushed past Aang into the street. "Let's go, then."

"Uh, Mai? Don't you want to get dressed first?"

She couldn't stop herself rolling her eyes. "I thought you said it was urgent? I have my dressing gown on. I'm decent. Let's not waste any more time."

He looked her over, shrugged, and then started jogging with her through the streets of the Caldera. She fully intended it to be a silent trek to the palace where she said absolutely nothing that could be used against her later, but the night was so oppressively silent and without anything else to focus on, her brain kept playing Aang's words over and over again. _Zuko is dying. Katara thinks he only has a few hours left._

It didn't seem possible.

"Was it an assassin?" She finally blurted out.

There had been so many of those in the early days of his reign, though none had seriously injured him. Maybe the rebel groups had finally found someone competent to do their dirty work.

"No. Dragon pox. He got bitten by a dragon, and-"

"Dragons are _extinct_."

"There are only a few, and they're very well-hidden, but they aren't extinct. We found them right after he left the Fire Nation to teach me firebending." He glanced over at her. "He never told you?"

"No." She had a vague memory of him telling her that he wanted to ride into the palace on a dragon one day, but she had taken that to be his insistence on achieving the impossible, not something he had any chance of actually accomplishing.

He grinned sheepishly. " _Technically_ we were supposed to keep it a secret. I guess Zuko did a better job of it than I did…"

"He always was good at secrets," she said with only the faintest trace of bitterness.

The palace loomed in front of her, and she began to slow her pace. It wouldn't do for her to be seen running into the palace at this time of night.

They pushed past a small crowd of women, who Mai recognized as Zuko's official fan club, camped outside the gates. They were holding signs that said _Get Well Soon_ and _We Love You Fire Lord Zuko!_ and many were openly weeping. Several of them recognized her and yelled insults as she passed.

She wasn't surprised. The papers had made her quite the villain in the years after their breakup: the cruel, cold woman who had viciously broken their beloved Fire Lord's heart. She'd endured worse abuse over the years and didn't let it bother her. They didn't know the half of it.

The guards at the palace gate raised their eyebrows at her state of dress, but they bowed to her and Aang and let them pass.

As they wound their way through the palace to his quarters, she was surprised to see the halls bustling with servants. All wore worried expressions, and some had red eyes. Many of them stopped and stared at her in surprise, and one maid began crying in earnest at the sight of her.

"Is he already dead?" she sobbed.

Of course she thought that. What other business would the Fire Lord's ex-girlfriend have in the palace in the middle of the night - in her dressing gown - when he was so severely ill?

"He better not be," she said, her voice thick with an unusual amount of emotion. The maid seemed surprised by that response, because her tears stopped suddenly. She gazed sadly at Mai, then bowed deeply and hurried on her way.

"He won't be," Aang said from her side, again putting an uncomfortable hand on her arm. "Katara is keeping him alive right now. She would have sent me to get you sooner if she thought she couldn't."

She shrugged out of his grasp and kept walking, this time at a faster pace than before.

When she at last turned into the corridor where his rooms were, she paused for a moment and stared at his door.

She had only been inside a handful of times; it was considered improper for anyone of the opposite gender to spend time in the Fire Lord's chambers with him, no matter how many chaperones were present.

He had once told her that when she was Fire Lady, _she_ could be the one telling everyone else to get out of the room. When, not if.

Why was she thinking about that now? Marrying Zuko hadn't been a possibility for a long time, so why should it matter just because he was dying? But a lump formed in her throat and she couldn't quite swallow it down.

The guards moved aside as she approached the door, as if they had been expecting her. The room felt crowded with several servants, a guard, and the royal physician. But she had a clear view of his bed. And of him.

It was as though all the restraints had been lifted. She saw Zuko lying on his bed, Katara's hands poised over him and manipulating the water she was using to heal him, and suddenly nothing else mattered.

She knelt at his side and took one of his hands in hers. It was fiery hot, painful to the touch. She wished she had her gloves on to protect her skin, but she didn't let go.

His skin was covered in a bumpy rash so thick she almost couldn't see his scar, the largest lesions of which were steaming. He was asleep, unnaturally still except for his shallow breathing.

" _Zuko_ ," she whispered, horrified. Then, to Katara, "Can he hear me?"

"Probably not," she said without pausing her work. "But don't let that stop you from talking to him, if you want."

No, that's not what she wanted. Maybe if everyone else left the room, but not now. The things she wanted to say to him could not be said in front of an audience. She would talk to Katara instead.

"Is there any hope?"

"There is always hope." Mai raised an eyebrow at her, and her lower lip trembled. "But I wouldn't have sent Aang for you if there was a lot of it."

Katara looked exhausted. There was a weary, defeated slump to her shoulders, and the bags under her eyes were well-defined.

"How long have you been at this?"

"Since we got here last night."

"You should get some rest. I'll sit with him."

She shook her head. "I can't, not while there's still a chance he might pull through. If I stop my healing, he won't be able to-" She cut off abruptly, tears running freely down her face.

Mai averted her eyes. She wasn't going to cry in front of a room of people, and Katara's tears were making her feel things.

"I want to keep him alive at least long enough for Iroh and Ursa to say goodbye. They should be here tomorrow afternoon."

She laughed humorlessly. "You'll fall asleep on your feet long before they get here."

"No." There was an edge to her voice as she moved her hands over Zuko's face, bringing the strange glowing water with it. "I won't."

Why was she so _stubborn?_ Iroh and Ursa wouldn't want her to do this to herself. Not when things were already hopeless. And despite Katara's earlier words, she could tell that it was.

"You're only prolonging his pain."

Katara paused the movement of her hands, caught Mai's eyes, and gave her a look of intense loathing. "We're not all so ready to give up on him."

Her shoulders stiffened. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Katara," Aang's voice held a note of warning. "Stop."

She ignored him. "You're always so quick to drop him at the first problem, no patience for giving second chances-"

"I've given him more chances than anyone other than General Iroh. But there is a limit to how much pain a person can stand, to how much love can hurt. When he went to his father behind my back-"

"Oh, and I'm sure you went to him _right away_ when you learned that your father was plotting to _kill_ him."

Mai stood up abruptly, anger making her lose her carefully crafted mask. "Don't pretend to understand what is going on between us. You have _no idea_ what he means to me."

Katara stood up, too, her voice breaking with emotion. "And you, obviously, don't know what he means to _me_ , if you think for _one moment_ that I'm _ever_ going to stop trying to save-"

_CRACK_

The sound startled them both out of their fight, brought them back to Zuko on the bed, his body now encased in a thin layer of ice.

"Oh no," Katara moaned. "What have I done?" She dropped to her knees, melting the water around her hands and running them frantically over him again.

Mai sat down heavily on the bed, clutching his hand desperately in hers, noticing that it wasn't painfully hot anymore. She put her other hand on him to double check. His skin was _cooler_ than hers.

"No," she whispered, frantically feeling for a pulse, her heart seizing in fear. Firebenders always exuded heat. Their skin should never feel cool to the touch. Had something terrible happened while Katara was distracted?

"I don't believe it!" Katara cried.

Then she began laughing, and Mai wondered if she had gone into hysterics. With great relief, she finally found Zuko's pulse, and for a moment she had to fight off hysterics, too.

"He's alive," she breathed, burying her head in his chest. She clutched his hand tighter, noticing that it was rapidly heating up again.

"He's maybe even a little better," Katara said excitedly. "I don't know why I didn't think of it before. His fever is so high. Of course it would help if he cooled off!"

And he did look better, she thought. The bumps on his face were no longer steaming, at least, and his breathing was slightly stronger.

"The ice?"

"I think so. I'm going to try it again. Maybe I can even use ice as a catalyst for healing..."

She closed her eyes and furrowed her brows. The water glowed with healing energy for a few seconds before turning to ice, but the healing glow faded only a second later.

"Almost," Katara muttered, melting the ice and starting over again. Her arms began to shake slightly and a sheen of sweat broke out on her face, but this time the glow lasted for nearly ten seconds before she lost control of it again. She gasped in a deep breath. "It's working," she panted. "And he _is_ better. I - I think he might live."

The news hit Mai like Azula's lightning. She had the irrational urge to burst into tears, but that wouldn't do at all. Especially not with an audience. She stood up and turned around to face the rest of the room.

"You there," she addressed one of the servants. "Run to the kitchens and bring back a large cup of matcha and a plate of dates and spiced nuts for Lady Katara. She needs energy. You," she pointed to another. "I want a guest chamber prepared for her and three maids assigned for her personal use once the Fire Lord is out of danger."

She barely paused for their bows and murmured, "Yes, my lady," before turning to the royal physician. "As your services do not seem to be necessary here," she gave him an arch look, to which he ducked his head in shame, "you would do well to spend this time documenting the particulars of this novel treatment for dragon pox. I suggest you find some parchment and ink."

He slunk out of the room with a deep bow, and she turned at last to the guard, who she noted looked vaguely familiar. "I assume the council was called into session tonight?"

"Yes, it was."

"Then you will inform the council of the Fire Lord's improved condition and tell them to adjourn until the morning."

He didn't move. "No."

She called upon all of her mother's training, injecting a steely imperiousness to her voice. "Name and rank? I'm sure the Fire Lord would love to hear about this when he is recovered."

"Hinata, son of General Saito, head of the Fire Lord's security." He bowed, but his voice held a slight note of warning. "And with all due respect, Lady Mai, you do not have authority to tell me _or_ the council what to do."

"Technically true, but since there is no one in the palace right now who is capable of giving that order, someone needs to say it. They will be needed for a meeting tomorrow when General Iroh arrives."

He remained unmoved.

She rolled her eyes. Time for a new tack. "Avatar Aang, do you agree that given the Fire Lord's improved condition, the council ought to adjourn until the morning?"

"Uh, sure?" He scratched his head and smiled.

Turning back to the guard, she fixed him with a piercing stare. "You can tell the council the order is from the Avatar."

The guard grimaced, but bowed and left the room.

"Wow, you're really good at that, Mai," Aang said, slightly awed.

It _had_ worked rather well. She had cleared the room of everyone but Katara, Aang, Zuko, and herself in less than a minute. Now was the time to say the things she hadn't been able to before. Now was the time to cry all of her relief and regret into his chest.

She turned back to the bed.

But she couldn't. The words died in her throat, and the tears refused to fall. She felt stuck, torn between immense relief that he was improving and the old feelings it provoked in her, and the fear of what admitting them would lead to.

She sat down next to him again, because it seemed like the best thing to do, and again took his hand. She tried to communicate everything she couldn't say through that touch.

Like a stone, she sat for a long time, always on the verge of saying _something,_ but unable to force the thoughts past her lips.

The physician, the guard, and even the servants had returned, but still she sat there, clutching his hand with a desperation she hadn't felt in years.

"He's doing so much better," Katara said after some time, sounding like she might burst into tears any moment.

Mai let out a shuddering breath, and glanced out the window. It was close to sunrise. Now or never.

She let go of Zuko's hand and stood up. "Now that I'm no longer needed, I think it's best that I go home."

"Don't go," Katara said. "He might wake up soon. He would want to see you."

She could hear the apology in those words, and though she appreciated them, she couldn't do that.

"It would make things worse if I were here when he woke up. He would assume it meant-" She stopped suddenly, not allowing herself to go down that line of thought. "Well, I'm not supposed to be in here, anyway." Then, as an apology of her own, "Thank you for healing him, Katara."

It took a supreme effort to leave that room. Nothing less than full faith in Katara's healing abilities and an iron control over her emotions could have induced her to walk away from Zuko when he was that sick.

But even Mai's famous stoicism had its limits. She did not go home, like she'd said she would, but instead wandered through several halls before she slipped into an alcove she knew well. Zuko had brought her here on more than one occasion so he could kiss her away from prying eyes. She could remember every touch, every sensation, how very _alive_ they both had been.

Her breath hitched, and she slid down the smooth red paneling until she was curled up with her arms around her knees and her head buried in them, and she allowed herself to _feel_ for the first time that night. She let the gut-wrenching sobs pour out of her and didn't let up until she was sure she could face the world again without betraying what Zuko's near death had done to her.

Then she dried her eyes, picked herself up off the floor, and walked out of the palace.

The jeers from the fan club were vicious and cruel, worse by far than the previous night, but she bore it all with cold, unfeeling grace.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For all of you who have been wondering what the ancient Fire Nation law is, this chapter is for you. ^^

Zuko hadn't expected to wake up. The last thing he remembered was being so sick and in so much pain that he'd wanted to die - and that's what he'd assumed was going to happen.

When he opened his eyes and saw Hinata, Katara, and Aang standing over him, the sun shining over the crest of the caldera behind them, and realized that he felt _better_ , it had come as something of a shock.

He opened his mouth to ask what was going on, but only a faint croak came out.

Katara immediately burst into tears and threw her arms around him. He returned the hug as best he could, though it felt like his arms were made of lead.

"You really scared us last night," Aang said, uncharacteristically serious.

That confirmed it; he _had_ nearly died. The only time he had seen Aang that somber was when trying to figure out how to defeat his father without killing him.

Again he tried to speak, but his throat was too dry. He made a motion with his hands to indicate that he wanted water, and Hinata quickly supplied him with a glass.

His hands trembled as he brought it to his lips, but he managed to drink a sip without spilling anything on himself.

"That's better," he rasped.

"I can't believe you're okay," Katara sniffed loudly.

"If anyone could cure dragon pox, it was you."

Rather than making her feel better, as he'd hoped, her countenance crumbled. "I almost didn't. It was an accident, really."

"Yeah," Aang said. "If it hadn't been for the fight she had with Mai-"

"Mai's here?" A rush of warmth shot through him, and he craned his head to look for her. But the room was empty save for the four of them.

"She was here most of the night," Katara said, wiping her eyes. "I tried to get her to stay until you woke up, but she said that would only make things worse."

Of course she'd said that. She'd been avoiding him ever since her father had gone to prison, rebuffing every attempt he'd made to capitalize on the positive interactions they'd had while trying to free Tom-Tom and Kiyi. And now, again, she'd run away before they could talk.

But instead of making him depressed, Zuko's spirits were buoyed by this news. Yes, she'd left - but before that, she'd been at his bedside. It was a start.

A murmuring outside the door increased in volume, and then in a flurry of robes Uncle, his mother, and Kiyi rushed into the room.

"Zuko!" Mother cried, kneeling beside him. "We got here as soon as we could."

"I'm glad you're here," he said, trying to make his voice sound less scratchy and weak.

"Aang made it sound so urgent," she said, sniffling. "Like you were going to-" She broke off and wrapped her arms around him.

He patted her back in much the same manner as he'd done with Katara a few minutes ago. "There's nothing to worry about anymore. I'm fine."

"You don't look fine, Nephew." Uncle shook his head gravely. "How did you catch _dragon pox,_ of all things?"

"Oh," he said sheepishly. "Did I never tell you about the time Aang and I visited the Sun Warrior ruins?"

Iroh arched his eyebrows and chuckled. "Did you, now? I will have to hear the rest of the story someday. I am sure it is fascinating." Then he sobered, turned towards Katara, and bowed. "I hear we have you to thank - again - for my nephew's life?"

"I can't really take credit," she blushed. "It was just dumb luck."

"But the result is the same. Without your intervention, he would have - died." He cleared his throat, and Zuko thought he heard a slight catch in Uncle's voice as he continued. "Our family - and the entire Fire Nation - is forever indebted to you."

"Yes, Katara," Mother said, sitting up and drying her eyes. "If there is anything we can do to repay you..." She put her hands on either side of Zuko's cheeks. "We were _so_ worried."

" _I_ wasn't worried," Kiyi said, sitting down on the bed and bouncing on the mattress. "Bad things are _always_ happening to you, Zuzu, but you're too strong to lose to any of them."

He laughed in response, though it came out sounding more like a badgerfrog mating call. "I wish that was the way things worked."

"General Iroh," Hinata spoke up suddenly. "The Council wanted to meet with you this morning to discuss items of business. That is, of course, if you and Fire Lord Zuko agree that a regency is necessary for the time being."

"Uncle, I can-"

"Not today, you can't." He narrowed his eyes. "And probably not tomorrow, either. Dragon Pox is a terrible and deadly disease for anyone over the age of five. You are lucky to have survived it.

"When I was little there were still cases, though it was becoming more rare every year. I had a friend whose father caught the pox while on a dragon hunt. He died so fast…" He shook his head. "No, you do not remember. _Everyone_ feared dragon pox back then. Not like in my father's childhood, when dragons were so plentiful that nearly every child in the Fire Nation caught it in their youth. Your grandfather," he said to Zuko, "had them when he was very young, thankfully. He was always concerned that I didn't. You just can't understand how scary it was."

"I remember what it was like," Aang piped up. "The Air Nomads used to inoculate us all with dragon pox when we were little. Since we traveled all over the world, it was important that we were protected from a young age."

"Is that right?" Uncle mused. "I keep forgetting you are older than you look, Avatar Aang."

"But Uncle, really. You don't have to take over for me. Katara healed me. I can handle my workload."

Zuko tried to prove this by sitting up straighter, but his arms shook as he pushed against the bed, and he ended up sliding down further than before.

Uncle frowned, Katara bounced on the balls of her feet anxiously, and Mother took one of his hands and said softly, "Please, Zuko. Humor us. We all want you to get your rest. And Iroh doesn't mind."

"I don't," Uncle immediately agreed.

With a sigh, he leaned his head back on his pillow. "Very well."

* * *

It turned out to be nearly a week before he felt well enough to leave his room, and during that time Uncle took over all of his many duties. Often he found himself wondering what he would have done without him. It was such a relief to have someone he trusted who could take over for him if necessary.

Still, he was Fire Lord and he felt a responsibility to his people that didn't include sitting in his chambers and being waited on hand and foot, day and night.

"I really don't mind, Zuko," Uncle said as he watched him don his robes of state. "No one minds. You should take your time to recover. A man-"

"Needs his rest. Yes, Uncle. I know." He paused as a servant set his crown in his topknot. "But that's the problem: all I've been doing this week is rest."

"There's no rush to get back to work. Your pockmarks haven't even faded yet!" He narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. "They won't scar, will they?"

"Katara seems to think not, as long as she keeps doing healing sessions. Besides, Grandfather didn't have any, did he?"

"No, he didn't," Uncle said slowly, "but he had dragon pox as a very young child. Children heal better than adults."

Zuko shrugged. Half of his face and the greater part of his chest were already covered in massive scars. He supposed it didn't matter much if he had a few lingering pockmarks, too.

"All ready," he said, striding towards the door.

"Nephew," Uncle said earnestly, "I really think you should reconsider. You are not strong enough to handle this meeting."

"They just want to talk about my illness. How bad can it be?"

* * *

"We came precariously close to the collapse of our monarchy." Minister Ito slammed his fist onto the table. "Sir, if you had died, we could have had Fire Lord Iroh. But _who would succeed him?_ "

Zuko settled into his throne as the table erupted with shouts of agreement. Uncle sat stony-faced at the end of the table facing him, a grave set to his brows. He had refused to meet Zuko's gaze ever since the meeting started.

"Prince Lu Ten is dead," Ito continued, "Ozai powerless, and Azula insane. General Iroh, though a supremely competent leader, is - forgive me the impertinence - beyond the age for reliably producing heirs. Your line, my lord, is the only hope for the Fire Nation. And currently it ends with you." He sat down heavily.

Zuko didn't see what all the fuss was about. "I'm only nineteen years old," he said. "My recent illness notwithstanding, I am healthy and have every reason to expect to live a long life. I will work even harder to promote peace and security at home so that there is no need to worry."

Minister Xu stood up and bowed. "My lord, there have been innumerable attempts on your life during your reign. Your sister and your father's allies wish you dead. You somehow acquired _dragon pox,_ despite the fact that there hasn't been a case since decades before you were born. You are young and feel invincible, but we know otherwise. The _only_ path for stability in the Fire Nation is for you to marry and produce heirs."

"Absolutely not. I can't even think of marrying right now." He felt panic clawing at him at the mere mention. Mai wouldn't even stick around to speak to him; it might take _years_ before he could convince her to give him another chance.

"My lord, you must," Minister Xu said earnestly, and a chorus of ministers echoed him.

Minister Yuzu smiled genially. "There are so many eligible ladies at court. Lady Anzu would be an excellent choice, or if you'd prefer, one of your generals' daughters or even one of the many lovely Ty sisters. You have only to pick the one that suits you best."

He gaped, unsure how to respond to that. "You can't _really_ expect me to marry any of them when I'm in love with-"

He broke off suddenly, afraid that he'd given away too much. But from the looks on their faces, they not only knew what he'd been about to say, they had been anticipating it.

He should have known. His relationship with Mai had been so public, and their breakup had caused such a scandal. The papers had covered it for months afterward, reporting every time he sent her a message or his palanquin stopped in front of her house. And more recently, the kamurikage business had put their relationship - or lack thereof - on the front pages again. The headlines had only just begun to slow down. They knew how he felt. And more than that, how _she_ felt.

Minister Yuzu's smile vanished. "My lord," he said sternly, "it is time you moved on. We all sympathize with your, er, personal problems, but a Fire Lord does not have the luxury of marrying for love. This is your duty to your people."

He shook his head and opened his mouth to speak, though no words came out.

Yuzu sighed heavily. "My lord, I'm afraid you leave us no choice. The Council has made a unanimous decision. We are invoking the Chaerzin Mandate. The wedding date is set for the summer solstice. If you cannot choose a bride before then, we will select Lady Anzu for you."

The Chaerzin Mandate. By summer _solstice_. That was only a few weeks away. Zuko felt a headache coming on. He swallowed the lump in his throat and tried to ignore the building panic in his chest.

Then he looked over at his uncle, who was wearing a decidedly guilty look, and the panic turned to anger. Uncle had _known_. Uncle had probably sat in on the meeting when they voted on this. And Uncle hadn't spoken up in his defense.

"I suppose that settles it, then." He stood up, fists clenched, and glared at Uncle as he walked towards the doors. "If you have any further business, I suggest you discuss it with General Iroh."

* * *

He hadn't gone ten steps away from the throne room when he came across Lady Anzu herself.

"Fire Lord Zuko," she said softly, bowing. "It is such a pleasure to see you returning to good health."

With a start, he realized that while he'd seen her around the palace and been aware that she was an important figure among the court ladies, he'd never taken the time to really _look at_ her.

She was beautiful, he had to give his ministers that. She had a soft, round face with a sweet expression and intelligent eyes, and elegantly coiffed hair that framed her face _just_ right. At least they would have beautiful children.

He winced inwardly at that thought, feeling sick to his stomach that he had even entertained the idea. He might be clueless in navigating court gossip, but he had heard the rumors about her, and he knew he did _not_ want to marry her.

When it became clear he was not going to respond to her comment, she cleared her throat delicately and tried again, this time with a direct question.

"I hope your meeting was a pleasant one, my lord?"

Ah, there it was, the raw calculation in her eyes. Somehow she had known about the meeting, had known what they would suggest to him, and she was ready to capitalize on it.

She reminded him of Azula. His mouth curled in disgust.

"Anything but pleasant," he said pettishly, making sure to meet her gaze.

There. Let her make of that what she may.

Her sweet smile tightened a bit at the corners, but otherwise did not falter. "That is too bad. But unpleasant as it may be, a Fire Lord has to do what is best for his people, does he not?"

And before he could formulate a response, she had bowed, said, "Good day, my lord," and headed down the hall.

* * *

He retreated to the garden, where he sat leaning against the trunk of a tree, staring up at the sky and wondering how things had gone so wrong in his life.

"Hey." Hinata slid into the space next to him. "Is something wrong?"

For a moment, Zuko only scowled. Hinata was supposed to be his guard, not his uncle or one of his friends who asked him about his _feelings_.

But when Hinata didn't take the hint, Zuko let his head fall back on the tree and sighed. His friends weren't here, and Uncle was actually involved in this abomination. It would be nice to have _someone_ to talk to.

"My council invoked the Chaerzin Mandate."

"What's that?" Hinata asked blankly.

"Did you learn about Fire Lord Chaerzin in school?"

Hinata shook his head.

"Yeah, I don't think he was part of the official curriculum when we were younger. His portrait hangs in the hall of Fire Lords, though. He's one of the first ones when you walk in."

"So what did he do to get a mandate named after him?"

"He had no siblings, no cousins, refused to marry, and died childless."

"Sounds like a lonely guy," Hinata said thoughtfully.

Zuko nodded. "After his death there was a major succession crisis that nearly turned into a civil war. The man who became Fire Lord after the dust settled - Chaerzin's third cousin once removed, or something - signed a law to prevent that kind of chaos from ever happening again."

"And what kind of law might that be?" He spoke hesitantly, as if he already had an idea of where this was headed.

"If there is no clear line of succession, the council can force an unmarried Fire Lord to marry, or force a married Fire Lord with no heirs to take another wife."

Hinata was quiet for a long moment.

"Forgive me, sir, but… I mean, you were always going to have to get married eventually, right?"

"I'm not opposed to marriage," he scowled, pulling apart a tuft of grass next to him to give him something else to look at. "I would get married here and now if it was to the right person."

"Ah," was his all-too-knowing reply. "You mean Lady Mai."

"Everyone in the Fire Nation knows that," he grunted, purposefully avoiding his gaze and the judgment he knew would be there.

Hinata lay down in the grass with his hands under his head. "So marry her, then. Here's your opportunity. It's not like she can say no."

"Want to bet?" he said bitterly.

"You didn't see her when you were sick," he insisted. "She cares for you, a lot. One of the guards told me that after she left your room, she was seen crying in that big alcove in the south wing. You know the one?"

He did. He and Mai had spent many a blissful hour there, back when they'd been together. That she'd gone there to _cry..._

"It doesn't matter," he said, rubbing his hands over his eyes wearily. "Maybe you're right, maybe she does care for me. But she won't say yes, no matter how she feels. She's too stubborn to make a rash decision like that. Maybe if I had months and months to wear her down, but there's no chance of it happening before the solstice."

"What happens if you can't convince her by then?"

"I have to marry Lady Anzu."

"Lady Anzu? Isn't she old Minister Goto's daughter?"

"Yeah, his only child. Inherited all his estates when he died."

"But I thought she'd married Colonel Mori?"

"She did. And inherited all of _his_ estates when he died in the battle of Ba Sing Se at the end of the war."

Hinata winced. "I hadn't heard he'd died. I was under his command briefly. He was a good soldier. So she's been a widow all this time? That must have been rough."

"He was old enough to be her father. Rumor was that she was glad to be rid of him."

"I never did understand why fathers married their young daughters off to old men like that. But still," Hinata whistled. "She got a pretty good deal out of it in the end. A young widow, filthy rich, well connected with both the political and military classes..."

"And a firebender." He shook his head. "The perfect match for the Fire Lord, at least on paper. Whereas Mai... she's a nonbender, her father is disgraced, they've lost most of their fortune, and she's been away from the court for years now."

Hinata sat up and frowned at him. "So what? Who cares about all that? If she's the one you want to marry, you have to at least try. Don't give up before you've even asked."

"Never give up without a fight," he quoted wryly.

"I know it sounds trite, but-"

"No, you're right." He stood up suddenly, decided. "Come on, let's go."

"Wha- _now?_ " Hinata jogged to catch up with him.

"I've only got a couple of weeks. It could take every day I've got to change her mind. I can't waste another minute."

"Yes, but don't you want to make some sort of plan first?"

He shook his head as he strode forward purposefully. "I'll think of something on the way."


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: While chapters 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 are already written, chapters 5 and 6 are not. So it may be a little more than two weeks between the next two updates.

Mai let out a sigh as she fiddled with the flower arrangement on the counter. It had been a slow day in the flower shop. Auntie Mura had a meeting with one of her suppliers, so she had spent the morning mostly alone with her own thoughts.

She didn't mind that, _per se_. She often preferred her own internal thoughts to the spoken thoughts of others. But the thoughts preying on her mind these days mostly revolved around Zuko and how close he'd come to dying.

In a way, it reminded her of the endless days she'd spent in prison those last weeks of the war. At night, she'd used to have nightmares that she'd gotten to the platform too late, and the gondola had crashed into the boiling lake. During the day, she'd obsessed with thoughts of him getting caught by his father and having to pay for his treachery with his life.

It was almost funny how similar the situation was now. The flower shop was much nicer than her cell in the Boiling Rock, of course. It smelled much better, and she could wear more comfortable clothing. But she was trapped inside, away from the sun, and alone. And still obsessed with Zuko.

The front door opened, and she looked up, half expecting it to be a prison guard.

Worse. It was Zuko.

They stared at each other for a moment, she taking note of the faint pockmarks that lingered on his skin, before she gathered her wits enough to remember that it was considered rude not to bow when the Fire Lord entered your shop.

She lowered her head over her hands, and spoke to him in her best I-am-a-loyal-citizen-and-not-your-ex-girlfriend voice.

"Fire Lord Zuko. Welcome to our humble flower shop."

He didn't react the way he usually did to that tone of voice, telling her that he didn't want her formality. Instead, he strode up to the desk, hands clenched into fists and a determined look about him, like he was about to firebend.

"I need to ask a favor of you." He closed his eyes momentarily, as if in pain. "I know you're going to want to say no. But please hear me out."

"Okay." She folded her arms across her chest. "What is it, then?"

"I need you to marry me."

"I'm sorry. What?" Surely she had misheard or his mind hadn't fully recovered from the dragon pox, because he couldn't _possibly_ be asking _that_.

"The council got nervous after my dragon pox scare." She didn't blame them; it had made her nervous, too. "They decided that I need an heir sooner rather than later. And I thought maybe you might..."

If he was talking council politics and heirs with her, he must be serious. Well, in that case, "No."

His face fell. "Why not? I know you care about me. If you hadn't, you would have shut the door in Aang's face and gone back to bed."

That was true. But he didn't understand, not really. She loved him more than she should. So much that it had left her open to hurt like she'd never felt before. She _couldn't_ walk into that again.

"Caring if you live or die isn't the same thing as wanting to marry you." She began to turn around to fuss with a flower arrangement behind her, but he caught her arm.

"Please, Mai. Please do this for me. If you don't, they're going to force me to marry someone else." He gave her such a pleading look that for a moment she considered saying yes.

Instead, she shrugged out of his grasp.

"You're the Fire Lord. Just tell them no."

"It's not that easy. There are laws I have to obey, too. They can force me to get married if they consider it in the Fire Nation's best interest. And if I refuse to choose my own bride, they can choose one for me." His face was grim. "They prefer Lady Anzu."

Mai knew Lady Anzu. She had been in the year ahead of her at the Royal Fire Academy for Girls. She was a pretty young widow with lots of land and influence in court, a perfect match for a Fire Lord. She was also needy and manipulative and scheming and the exact opposite of what an emotionally traumatized person like Zuko needed.

"She's pretty enough," she forced herself to say, though the words were bitter on her lips. "Couldn't you grit your teeth and bear it?"

"I _can't_ ," he said, with true distress. He ran his hands over his face and gave an agonized groan. "Does it really not bother you to think about it? Because it does bother me. A lot."

It did. She still desperately wanted to be with him. The thought of Zuko married to Lady Anzu made her sick, and she was having to use all her self-control to continue to refuse him. Because stronger than the desire to be with him again was her sense of self-preservation. No one had ever hurt her as much as he had. It couldn't happen again. She wouldn't survive it.

"Surely you can think of _someone_ you could be happy with." At his pointed glance, she rolled her eyes. "Someone other than me."

She had to give him credit; he actually took the time to consider it. "I suppose I wouldn't hate marrying Katara, or maybe Toph. At least we're friends. But Katara and Aang are together, and Toph is so _young_. Maybe if Katara were single, or if I could push the wedding off a year or so until Toph's a little older, but the council wants it to happen in a few weeks." He gave a self-deprecating laugh. "Not that it would matter. I'm pretty sure neither of them would agree to marry me, and since they're not Fire Nation I can't order them."

"And you could order me."

He was quiet for a long moment.

"Yes," he finally said, reluctantly. "But I won't do that to you. Not without your consent."

"I remember when you said otherwise," she said, and she wasn't able to keep the bitterness out of her voice.

He sighed heavily. "I've apologized for that already. Many times. It was horrible of me, and I'm so sorry I did that to you. But that was years ago. I was new at being the Fire Lord and panicked at the thought of losing you. Can't you see that I'm trying to do it differently this time?"

Yes, she had noticed.

"What about Ty Lee?" she asked, quickly changing the subject. But as soon as she said it, she knew she wouldn't be able to live with that herself. She wished she could take it back before he agreed to it.

He shook his head immediately. "No. All of my memories with her are tied up with you." He leaned forward and took one of her hands in his. "Mai," he said softly, "It has to be you."

She closed her eyes so she wouldn't have to meet his gaze, but she didn't pull out of his grasp.

"At least take the title of Fire Lady." He was speaking very quickly. "If you don't want anything more than that, if you don't want a romantic relationship with me, I promise I will respect that. It can be a - a marriage of convenience."

Her eyes opened, sharp. "You really want to be in a loveless marriage?"

"At this point, there's no avoiding that." He met her eyes, and his voice lowered. "The best I can hope for now is a marriage to someone I care for."

Her heart skipped a beat, and she looked down at her hand, still held in his, to escape his gaze. That was no better. His hand was covered in pockmarks, far more than on his face. She remembered holding this hand, so scalding hot that her own hands had sustained minor burns from the contact. His hand had hung limp in hers, unable to respond to her touch. She had believed she would lose him.

And she _would_ lose him this time, if she turned him down. True, he would at least be alive, but he would never again be hers. She would be faced with the consequences of her choice daily for the rest of her life. How many years would she live to regret it? Without thinking, she opened her mouth.

"Okay, let's assume I did agree to these conditions. How does that help you produce an heir? Isn't that what this is about?"

"No one has to know about the arrangement." He waved his other hand carelessly. "We can adopt." When she didn't react to that, he sighed and his face sobered. "Look, if it helps, don't think of it as marrying me. With all the assassins and threats to the nation since I've become Fire Lord, I need a Fire Lady I can trust. Think of it as doing your duty to the Fire Nation."

When he put it that way, it didn't seem like such a terrible idea. She was still frightened of being hurt, but if she was doing it for her country then a little bit of personal suffering was acceptable... right?

She looked into his pale, pockmarked face, at the circles under his eyes and the weary slump to his shoulders and relented.

"Oh, all right. I suppose so," she said with an exaggerated sigh. "But I'm agreeing to a strictly platonic relationship. And only for the sake of the Fire Nation."

"Thank you." His shoulders sagged. "That's enough for now."

" _For now_?" She pulled her hand out of his and took a step back. "How long do you plan to give me?"

"For as long as you need it to be that way." He put his arms up in self-defense. "I promise."

Oh, but she knew what that meant. Zuko never gave up. Not ever. No matter how many years it took. He was as stubborn as a mule-cat, and twice as tenacious. He would keep his promise, but he would never let go of hope that she would change her mind.

She was far less bothered by it than she felt she ought to be.

"Whatever." She rolled her eyes. "Now what?"

"I tell the council. We send out formal announcements and throw an engagement banquet and deal with all those boring details that I couldn't care less about. And..." He paused, then frowned. "I should probably do a proper proposal and ask your mother's permission and all that."

She couldn't stop her nose wrinkling. "Please don't. We agreed on the terms; that's enough for me. What would be the point of a formal proposal? And what could my mom say to change anything? You don't need her permission. Your word is law."

"I figured you would say that," he said, smiling fondly and leaning against the counter. He looked at ease for the first time since he'd entered the shop. "It's not for you. I know better than that. A big part of being Fire Lord is putting on appearances to make the citizens happy."

"Fine." She grimaced. "Go placate the populace and let me get back to work. I'm the only assistant Auntie Mura's got, and it looks like she's not going to have me much longer."

He leaned towards her, and for a moment she stiffened, thinking he was going to try to kiss her.

But instead he bowed. "Thank you, again. You have no idea how grateful I am that you said yes. I'll make sure you don't regret it."

She wasn't overly optimistic about that.

He turned around and left her alone in the shop. As soon as the door closed behind him, her breath came out in a whoosh.

What had she gotten herself into? She had sworn off Zuko for so long. If it hadn't been for all the emotions she'd been processing this last week, he never would have worn her down. Emotions or not, she shouldn't have given in. She should have been stronger.

_Think of it as doing your duty to the Fire Nation._ Ugh, who fell for dumb lines like that? She was such a fool.

But there was a small smile on her face all afternoon that she couldn't quite suppress.

* * *

The palanquin bearers had barely started back for the palace when Hinata lifted the curtain. He was keeping pace beside him, and there was a look of unadulterated curiosity on his face.

"Well?" he whispered. "How bad was it?"

Zuko shook his head, dumbfounded. "She said _yes_."

"She _what!?"_ Several pedestrians turned at his outburst. He winced and lowered his voice to a whisper. "I thought you said it would take weeks or years?"

"I know," Zuko whispered back. "I can't believe it." Then he gave a little laugh and leaned back against the cushions. "Though in some ways, it's still going to take a lot of time."

"What do you mean?"

"She agreed to become the Fire Lady so that I'd have someone I trusted in the position. Anything else… well, let's just say she's still not too thrilled with _me_."

Hinata frowned. "I don't understand."

"Don't worry about it." He waved his hand dismissively. "I've got plenty of time now to figure it out."

"But to do _what_?"

His mouth settled into the familiar determined grimace. "Right now I've got to make it official before she changes her mind."


End file.
